Greetings, readers! The
topic of my storybook
is princesses. Princesses are a common theme throughout many
fairy
tales. I have grown up hearing different princess tales, and I
thought it would make an excellent topic for my storybook. I
think it is good to retell stories to keep them entertaining.
When the stories are changed, it helps keep people's imaginations
going, and it allows
us to be creative to retell them. Most little girls dream about
princesses, or dream of becoming a princess, or love watching and
playing princess and I was one of those girls. I am really
looking
forward to sharing some of the versions of these stories that many
people are not familiar with in my own words.
The English word princess come to English from the
French word princesse. The word entered into the English language
in the late 14th century, when the Norman French culture dominated
England and many French words were adopted into English. The
French word prince comes from the Latin word princeps, which means the
number one guy, the top guy, the person who takes first place (it is
related to the words "prime" and principal). Currently, in the
Oxford English Dictionary princess is defined to mean "a woman who or
thing which surpasses all others." The word princess is often
related to thoughts or ideas of being number one, she is on top, and
she is the best. However, there are also negative connotations
related to the word princess. "Princesses" are often thought of
as being spoiled, bratty, heartless, careless, rude, etc. Today,
we see the term princess even being used outside of royal families, and
we have started to see the different connotations of the word princess
that have nothing to do with royalty. For example, homecoming
princesses and fathers calling their daughters princesses.
As a young girl, I use to play princess. My
friends and I would put make-up on, dress up in our most beautiful
dresses, and dance and play around like we were in fairy tales.
This is something young girls still do today. Little girls dream
of being princesses. They want to be beautiful, wear pretty
dresses, and be perfect little princesses. I think while most
women come to the reality that the idea of becoming a princess is just
an idea or dream, it is still nice to be able to read about the fairy
tale princesses in storybooks.
The source that I will be using for my storybook is The Blue Fairy Book by
Andrew Lang. The entire book is a collection of fairy tales,
but my focus will be on the stories involving princesses. The
first story that I have chosen for my storybook is Cinderella, or
the Little Glass Slipper. It
is one of the many versions of Cinderella.
The second story that I have decided to include is The Sleeping Beauty
in the Wood. The
third story that I will include in my storybook is Snow-White and Red-Rose.
This version of Snow White is different than the version that many
people know, and so I think it will be interesting to retell it.
My final story that I will include is Beauty and the Beast.
This is a well-known fairy tale, and I think it will be a good one to
conclude my storybook with. I also
want
people to remember that these stories are not the Walt Disney
version. They are different stories written by different
people.
I have chosen these two princess tales because they are two of my
favorites, and I can't wait to retell them!
I have decided to set these stories in a modern day
salon. Princesses...hair dressers...more
women...lots of talking, so you know that it is going to be a very loud
setting with a lot of drama. But it would not be a princess
storybook without all of that stuff, right?! Hope you come back
to
see what goes on in the lives of all these different princesses!
